Precious
by Koizumi Mizuki
Summary: Takano catches Ritsu staring at him while he's pretending to be asleep. Pure fluff, one-shot.


**First of all, I wrote this at two in the morning, so be warned as there will probably be mistakes in here somewhere. I couldn't sleep and this fluffy story just came to me, so I had to write it down.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Precious<strong>

The first rays of sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow in the room. Takano lay in bed with his eyes closed, but he was already awake. He wasn't one to sleep in, even when he'd work until midnight.

Another reason why he couldn't sleep was because of the other person sleeping in the bed. He had, perhaps somewhat demandingly, invited Ritsu over to spend the night. As usual, this had let to a night where Takano barely slept at all. It wasn't because Ritsu was loud or kept hogging the blanket, but because of his presence in general. When Ritsu was so close, he made Takano's heart beat faster and made him forget about everything else.

The love Takano felt for Ritsu was the strongest emotion he held...and also the dearest. It was the feeling that had ripped his heart in two, but also the one that had sewn it back together many years later. The pain Ritsu had inflicted was gone and the wounds were healed. They were lovers again, even though Ritsu didn't seem to feel that way most of the time.

Takano wasn't sure why Ritsu still had those doubts. They ate together, kissed and made love, so why wasn't it obvious to Ritsu that the two of them were going out? Perhaps he was simply too stubborn to admit it.

Peeking at the other through his long, dark eyelashes, Takano discovered that he was being looked at. Ritsu was gazing at him with a blush dusting his cheeks and a small smile playing on his lips. His expression was innocent and loving, something Takano wasn't used to seeing.

'Why does he hardly ever look at me like that?'

Assuming that Ritsu thought he was still asleep, Takano kept quiet and watched his every move. He could tell that the other was struggling as those green eyes constantly looked away, but then darted to him again. The color of Ritsu's face grew darker as time passed.

'How cute,' Takano thought, forcing back a chuckle that tried to break free from his mouth, 'So this is what he does when I'm asleep, huh? Well, he's in for a surprise.'

Ritsu was about to look away once more when Takano opened his eyes, staring directly at him. His blood ran cold and he turned away from the man, but he realized that it was already too late.

"Good morning," came from Takano's lips, making it sound as though nothing happened.

"H-how long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to find out that a certain someone likes to stare at me while I'm sleeping. I thought you said that you were tired when we came home yesterday, but I guess that was just an excuse."

"I wasn't staring at you!" Ritsu protested, rolling over to face the other, "You just look different when you're asleep, that's all."

"That means you _were_ staring, you idiot."

"No, I wasn't!"

Takano gave him a bored, unimpressed look as Ritsu continued to deny his guilty pleasure. He knew that he loved that side of Ritsu as well, but sometimes it got on his nerves that the person he loved couldn't just be honest with him. Even so, the embarrassed expression that always gave Ritsu away was a sight he adored.

"Anyway, what's so different about me when I'm sleeping?" he asked.

All of a sudden, Ritsu became speechless and averted his gaze. This reaction made Takano curious and he sat up, leaning over to Ritsu's side by supporting his weight on his arm.

"Ritsu, answer me."

"It's…it's nothing! Forget I said anything!"

"No, I want to hear it," Takano insisted, "You shouldn't have said that if you don't want to tell me."

Unfortunately, nothing he said could persuade his stubborn lover. Takano sighed and dropped the subject, but he kept wondering what Ritsu's answer would have been. Lowering himself, he placed a kiss on those pursed lips and waited for them to part.

Despite his tenseness, Ritsu soon relaxed and got lost into the kiss. As a warm tongue entered his mouth, the image of Takano's face as he slept popped up in his head again. He never understood how this man, who treated him like a failure at work, could hold and kiss him so lovingly when they were alone. Yet, after seeing how precious Takano looked while he was sleeping, it didn't surprise him anymore.

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><p><strong>I don't write many stories for Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, but I do like the couples :3<strong>

**Thank you for reading!**


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